Sacred Heart staffer to appear in online health video

Published 2:04 pm, Monday, April 22, 2013

"I have MS, but it doesn't have me."

That's the mantra that Leo Katsetos, senior associate athletic director for athletic training/head athletic trainer at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, has repeated to himself over the past several years. A native of Chincoteague, Va., Katsetos, 36, was diagnosed in December 2003 with multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease that attacks the central nervous system, which is made up of the brain, spinal cord and optic nerves.

The years since his diagnosis were full of ups and downs, but in recent years, he's become a passionate advocate for spreading awareness about the condition, which affects more than 2.1 million people worldwide. A big goal of his is showing that someone can lead an active, happy life with MS and he's hoping his appearance in an upcoming video on the popular health and wellness website Everyday Health will help illustrate that message.

Katsetos was one of five people selected to participate in the video, which is scheduled to post to www.everydayhealth.com in a few weeks. Katsetos spent a day in New York City while a camera crew filmed a panel discussion with him and the other participants. Topics included daily life with MS, adapting to MS, how MS affects relationships, MS in the workplace and available support groups.

People living with MS can sometimes get deeply discouraged, Katsetos said. The symptoms of the condition vary widely from person to person and can be relatively mild -- such as numbness in the limbs -- or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. Katsetos has faced his own scary encounters with MS, particularly in fall 2007. "I had a bad relapse and I couldn't use the left side of my body," he said. "It really scared me."

Along with the panel video, Everyday Health will also include an individual profile that will detail how MS has affected Katsetos' own life. The feature, recorded on the Sacred Heart campus, will include the ups and downs of living with MS, how Katsetos has adapted to life with MS and his influence on others diagnosed with the disease.

Katsetos said his 2007 relapse was a wake-up call that led him to adopt a healthier lifestyle, lose 45 pounds, and took on a positive attitude. Through his contribution to the Everyday Health video, he's hoping to reach and inspire people who were struggling the way he was.

"All the stories you read about the different ways people handle MS -- they can sometimes find themselves in a dark place," he said. "I was in a dark place a couple of times in my life."